Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Buys 3,345 Shares of Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Nordson Co. (NASDAQ:NDSN - Free Report) by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Nordson were worth $1,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nordson by 5,590.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,894 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Nordson by 61.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 31,146 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,224,000 after buying an additional 11,875 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Nordson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,562,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Nordson by 422.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,947,000 after buying an additional 11,625 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nordson by 85.3% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 39,698 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,899,000 after acquiring an additional 18,277 shares during the last quarter. 72.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nordson

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Kelley sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.98, for a total value of $749,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,164,576.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.86% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Nordson from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $299.00.

Nordson Trading Up 4.3 %

Nordson stock traded up $10.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $264.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 269,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,615. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.90. The stock's fifty day moving average is $253.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.84. Nordson Co. has a 1 year low of $219.46 and a 1 year high of $279.38.

Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $661.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $656.49 million. Nordson had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Nordson Co. will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Nordson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Nordson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Nordson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.00%.

About Nordson

Nordson Corporation engineers, manufactures, and markets products and systems to dispense, apply, and control adhesives, coatings, polymers, sealants, biomaterials, and other fluids worldwide. It operates through three segments: Industrial Precision Solutions; Medical and Fluid Solutions; and Advanced Technology Solutions.